Teens make pact to get pregnant together, Oh my!

Liquid LibraryHaving a baby isn't easy. What were these teenage girls thinking?

I got forwarded a startling wire story today. Apparently, a group of teens in Gloucester, Mass., made a pact to get pregnant, so they could raise their babies together, according to a story by The Associated Press. (You can read the full story by clicking on "continue reading entry.")

None were older than 16. The high school found out about the pact because 17 girls were pregnant. (Usually, the high school has about four pregnancies a year)

My first reaction is: These poor girls. What would ever prompt them to make such as pact? Why would they think having a babies when they are still babies themselves would make sense? The story notes they have poor self-esteem. I'm sure that's the case.

As anyone who has had a newborn knows, yes, it's an amazing, life-affirming experience. But it's a ton of work. Babies by design are completely dependent. They need 24-hour care. Life with a newborn means sleepless nights and complete selflessness on the part of the parent.

Yes, it's wonderful to love a little baby, but a baby's capacity to love back is pretty limited, really. Those payoffs don't really come until later when you hear your toddler say "Mommy, I love you." I'm not saying babies don't love their parents, but it's a love based on need. A baby will bond with whoever takes care of his or her needs.

I hope these girls will get the emotional help they need to see that a baby won't fill whatever emotional void is inside them.

What do you think? Post a comment.

GLOUCESTER, Mass. (AP) -- A pact made by a group of teens to get pregnant and raise their babies together is at least partly behind a sudden spike in pregnancies at Gloucester High School, school officials said.

Principal Joseph Sullivan told Time magazine in a story published Wednesday that the girls confessed to making the pact after the school began investigating a rise in pregnancies that has left 17 girls at the school carrying a child. Normally, there are about four pregnancies a year at the school.

Sullivan told Time that nearly half of the expecting students, none over 16, were involved. Sullivan said students were coming to the school clinic multiple times to get pregnancy tests, and "seemed more upset when they weren't pregnant than when they were."

Some of the girls reacted to the news they were pregnant with high fives and plans for baby showers, Sullivan said. One of the fathers "is a 24-year-old homeless guy," Sullivan told the magazine.

Superintendent Christopher Farmer confirmed the deal to WBZ-TV, saying the girls had "an agreement to get pregnant."

He said the girls are generally "girls who lack self-esteem and have a lack of love in their life."

Christen Callahan, a former Gloucester High School student who had a child when she was 15, said on NBC's "Today" show that some of the girls would ask her about her own pregnancy.

"They would say stuff like, 'Oh, I think my parents would be fine with it, and they would help me,' stuff like that," Callahan said.

But she said she had no firsthand knowledge of a pact between the girls to get pregnant.

"They were just kind of like curious about it, they never actually came out and said it," Callahan said.

The first reports of the students' apparent plan to get pregnant were in the Gloucester Daily Times in March, when Sullivan said students were reporting that the girls were getting pregnant on purpose.

The rash of pregnancies has shaken the seaside city about 30 miles north of Boston. Last month, two officials at the high school health center resigned to protest the resistance from the local hospital to the confidential distribution of contraceptives. The hospital administers the state money that funds the clinic.